Women Who Podcast: Kathy Barron’s Mission to Elevate Women’s Voices
Kathy Barron is the founder and editor-in-chief of Women Who Podcast magazine. Her mission is to celebrate women independent podcasters from all over the globe by acknowledging their hard work and sharing their stories. Women Who Podcast magazine strives to be a forum for fans and hosts to reach out to one another for support, collaboration, and inspiration.
Listen to the complete episode.
LINKS
ON THIS EPISODE
[00:00:00] Introduction
[00:01:26] Kathy Barron on what she’s most passionate about
[00:02:30] Kathy Barron on her and her dreams growing up
[00:05:25] Kathy Barron on work as a videographer
[00:13:08] Kathy Barron on tips for someone who is interested in self-publishing
[00:14:46] Kathy Barron on when she first got interested in podcasting
[00:16:41] Kathy Barron on challenges she faced as an independent woman podcaster
[00:22:03] Kathy Barron on unique challenges that women podcasters face
[00:24:20] Kathy Barron on on starting Women Who Podcast magazine
[00:25:49] Kathy Barron on creating podcasts with longevity
[00:29:58] Kathy Barron on advancements in podcasting technology It's like, who's doing that besides the
[00:34:29] Kathy Barron on how to get featured in Women Who Podcast magazine
[00:34:44] Kathy Barron on what she hopes people who are reading the magazine take away from it
[00:34:50] Kathy Barron on what she hopes people who are reading the magazine take away from it
[00:36:28] Kathy Barron on common challenges women podcasters face and tips for overcoming them
[00:37:58] Kathy Barron on unusual or creative podcasts featured in the magazine
[00:42:48] Kathy Barron on podcasts she is currently listening to
[00:51:05] Kathy Barron on her dream for herself and her dream for women
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Passionistas: Hi, we're sisters, Amy and Nancy Harrington, the founders of The Passionistas Project. We've created an inclusive sisterhood where passion driven women come to get support, find their purpose, and feel empowered to transform their lives and change the world. On every episode, we discuss the unique ways in which each woman is following her passions, talk about how she defines success, and explore her path to breaking down the barriers that women too often face.
Today, we're talking with Kathy Barron, the founder and editor in chief of Women Who Podcast magazine. Her mission is to celebrate women independent podcasters from all over the globe by acknowledging their hard work and sharing their stories. Women Who Podcast magazine strives to be a forum for fans and hosts to reach out to one another for support, collaboration, and inspiration.
If you're joining us live here today, please feel free to drop any comments or questions for our guests in the chat, and we'll do our best to get them answered. Now, please welcome Kathy Barron.
Kathy: Thank you. That was awesome. I might take some of that copy and use it for my own good. Feel free. It's great to see both of you.
Thanks for this opportunity.
Passionistas: Oh, we love having you here. You've been such a great part of our sisterhood. We're so thrilled to share more of your story with everyone. So tell us first, what are you most passionate about?
Kathy: I think it's just bringing others together, like collaborating and networking and just bringing other women together.
Um, and just supporting them. I mean, I never, I mean, if you asked me 10 years ago, if I would be in this situation, I would be like, what are you talking about? So I think it's great as far as how things have evolved in my life to come to this moment. And it's just, it's just very. You know, empowering and inspirational to be able to, to work with other women, support them, collaborate and just be aligned with so many.
It's like you don't really realize how many, like the podcast community is just amazing and you don't really realize that until you're in it and you're meeting people that you wouldn't normally meet in any other circumstance. So like, That's just a magical thing. Yeah, we totally agree. We've met so many amazing women, especially in the, in the world of podcasting.
Um, so let's take a step back. So you said you would never have imagined 10 years ago, this is what you would be doing. So what was your childhood like? And what were those, your, the dreams you had when you were growing up? I think growing up, it's like, you know, I grew up in the seventies and eighties. And, you know, when I remember I was in the, we, I lived in New York, uh, so we had a basement that was furnished and, you know, there was this blackboard on the wall.
And I remember going down there by myself and teaching my little students. And, you know, drawing on the blackboard and just, you know, just doing that. And I guess maybe I wanted to be a teacher. I don't know. Maybe I wanted to be a secretary, you know, cause that's what women's roles were supposed to be. Um, but I think as I got older, um, I didn't go to a four year school.
I went to a two year business college that's now defunct because my dad's like, well, either you can go into the military or you can pay for your College. I'm like, I'll pay for my college. Thank you very much. Um, and then that was in 87 when I graduated and I came out to California like two months, a month later, cause I had siblings out here and I grew up in a small town, so I knew I didn't want to go back to the small town because of just.
I want to just expand and grow. I didn't want to go back to the small town cause I just knew there weren't that many opportunities. So moving out to the Bay area was huge. And so that's kind of when I started to find out who I was and creativity kind of showed its head with photography and then videography.
So I think as a progression, my dad was also in TV and radio. So I think. It's somewhat, you know, somewhat in my DNA that this is where I am and he passed away over, I think it's 2005, so it'll be 20 years. So, you know, he didn't see any of my podcast stuff. So, you know, it's, it's kind of cool to be able to kind of be in his footsteps, you know, kind of doing what he, he did.
Passionistas: That's amazing. Yes. Um, and first of all, I have to say anyone who played school as a kid is our people. Like we did that too.
Kathy: That's awesome. And we would have gotten along really well because we played the students. So. Oh, you did. Okay. That would have been a good collaboration. Yeah. Yeah.
Passionistas: So tell us a little bit more about your work as a videographer and photographer.
What did you do around that stuff?
Kathy: Well, in the Bay Area, I, you know, there's a lot of migrant farm workers and my parents lived in Santa Maria. So driving down 101, you see all the agricultural fields and, you know, every time I would drive down, I would see people in the fields, but I couldn't see their faces because they were obviously covered up to protect themselves from the elements, you know, the sun.
And it was just very intriguing to me. It's like, who are these people? Like. I know they're working really hard and, you know, under these conditions. And so I, uh, in Half Moon Bay, there's a huge migrant community and I connected to some, and I actually went over and took some black and white because I want to do like this black and white essay, photo essay of this migrant community to kind of give them some awareness and exposure and, you know, bring awareness to their, their community.
And. As I was thinking about it, and then in the meantime, I moved to Portland, um, I was like, you know, the photos aren't really doing them justice, like they need a voice. And so that was, that was, I was like, okay, well then I need to go to art school and learn video production if I'm going to do this. So then, I moved to Seattle, went to Seattle Art Institute, and that was just amazing.
Um, it was a great experience, uh, I met a great, a lot of people, um, you know, just being as you probably can relate, being with a group of people that are creatives, it's like your mind just explodes like every day. And you just can't believe how creative you are until you're around others that are creative.
So it's, it was a great experience. Um, and so my idea was to do a documentary called Faces in the Fields. And follow a, a migrant family. It never happened. It's still, you know, in the back of my mind that it would be, I would love to, you know, do something like that. But that's kind of how I got into videography was because of that idea.
And you know, documentaries are, were my first. Portfolio for school because I love listening to other people's stories and just hearing about their life experiences. And so my portfolio is just a bunch of little, short documentaries. And then I ended up working for a production company after I graduated and we did a documentary on the Pike Place market and the The families that basically grow up there, um, generation after generation.
So that was really cool to be part of that project and, you know, just being able to be your creative self. It's so freeing and it's, it's just an amazing feeling. One of the other creative endeavors that you did is you wrote a novel called Token of Choice. How did you find that out? We do our research very well.
Wow. Tell us about that. Well, that was a big surprise, uh, because I wouldn't consider myself a writer even to this day. Writing wasn't something that I did a lot of. Um, I think I wrote In art school, in my scripting class, we had to write a story or something. And I wrote this story and the teacher's like, you really need to write more.
And I'm like, yeah, okay, whatever. So fast forward. So after Seattle, I moved to central California for like a year. And then I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. And during that time, I was doing some video projects with, because I worked at Trader Joe's basically. And so the people that I met there, as you know, are very creative.
And so I collaborated with this one guy to do this short video, um, that he had kind of written. So I kind of dabbled a little bit in doing some projects, um, but it was hard because there, there wasn't that many people to kind of collaborate with. But I was, I had this idea of doing like a web series. It's called Token of Choice, and it would be in Santa Fe, in that area.
And I kind of had one episode already kind of written. And then, you know, it's hard to find people to collaborate with. So I ended up moving back to California in 2012, and I didn't have a job yet. So the National Novel Writing Contest, if you're familiar with that, happened in November. So I was like, huh.
I wonder if I should try that with this idea I have for the web series to see if it, you know, comes up with anything. So it was quite the experience, um, it was nothing that I'd experienced before as far as writing. I mean, I think there was one day I wrote like 4, 500 words, which is like ridiculous at that time because I had no practice writing.
And it was, it was really cool because a lot of the characters were talking to me in my head. Like, no, you shouldn't do that, or you should go this way, and I'm like, uh, no, that's not gonna happen. You know, so I'm having like this dialogue with these characters, fictional characters, in my head. So I ended up writing like 50, 027 words for the month or something.
But it was a pretty I felt like I was on psychedelic sometimes when I was writing. Because it was like all of these voices are in my head and you know, all these experiences that were happening. So six years later, the book finally was self-published because the month that I wrote For the contest was a shit show.
It's like I had 12 plots, 30 characters, it was just like all over the place. Um, so it took me that long to just to work on it and narrow it down. And, uh, it was great. I had a couple of editors and then I self-published it. So it was, it was nice to be able to finish that. And I promised myself, because I have a tendency, I don't know if you guys do this, but it's like you're doing a project and then, oh, look, there's another project over here I can do, or another one over here.
And it's like, I have to like, consciously be like, no, you're going to finish this project first, and then you can move on. So we actually, um, I had a kid's book idea as well. So, uh, I had a friend, Chelsea, come in and help me co author that recently. So it's finished and we're working with an illustrator now.
So hopefully by November, December, we'll have that self published as well. So there's, you know, these little creative muses come into my brain. And, you know, if they, if I don't pay attention to them, they will constantly poke at me to make sure that. I'm still aware that they're there.
Passionistas: Oh, that's excellent.
I love that story. And, and yes, we have all those crazy ideas and chasing shiny objects all the time. So if, if for people who are listening, do you have any tips for someone who is interested in self-publishing?
Kathy: It's definitely a learning curve. Like, It's been since, what, 2018 since I've self-published that book, and so now that we're self-publishing this kid's book, it's like starting over again, because it's been so long since I've done that process, um, but it is, excuse me, it is a learning curve as far as, um, knowing what company, you know, Amazon apparently has, you I went with IngramSpark, so apparently Amazon is like the way to go and it's pretty easy.
So I've never worked with Amazon in that capacity, but I'd just go at your own pace. Like, yes, you finished your book, you're excited, you want to get it out into the world, but you also want to make sure that you format it properly, that it goes through. Because you want to do it right the first time with something like that.
So just take your time. And self-publishing is, you know, it's pretty, I'm not gonna say it's easy, but it's a pretty simple way to get your, your book and your publications published. So.
Passionistas: Yeah. And I love that the technology exists now that you don't have to take that risk of printing up a thousand copies of a book and hoping you sell them all.
A print on demand technology is so great that you can create this book and, and sell as many copies as people want, but you're not stuck with a garage full of them. Right.
Kathy: Exactly. Exactly. And it doesn't cost tens of thousands of dollars either,
Passionistas: you
Kathy: know, as far as the editing and the publishing. And, you know, the rejection letters, like, who wants that?
You know, I'd rather just do it myself. Totally agree. Um, so when did you first get interested in podcasting? I mean, it seems like all, everything that I've ever done creatively is just like, on a whim. Like, there wasn't any plan, uh, 2008? No, 20 Let's see, it was six years ago. So that was 20, do the math for me.
18. 2018. Yes. Thank you. Um, that a friend and I, who I met in Santa Fe, we're just chatting and she's very sarcastic too. So we definitely like feed off of each other and we were going back and forth and we're always just like laughing so hard. And I'm like, we should start a podcast. Like, you know, why not?
So we kind of started, I mean, that's how it started. It was just an idea. And we kind of went with it. And after a few months, her life just got too crazy and just wasn't able to, to spend the time. So that's when it ended up being just me. And then I brought in my friend Mario. He was like the token, the woman of the, token woman of the podcast.
And he was a comedian and he, you know, stood in for about six months. And then I was just like, okay. That's when the, the format of having a guest and then a cohost and then my real deep shit, deep shit episode kind of came into play. So it's definitely been, um, an evolution in just learning what I wanted to do with it and how I wanted it to be formatted.
[00:16:34] Passionistas: And so what were some of the challenges you faced as an independent woman podcaster when you start? Were starting…
[00:16:41] Kathy: I think for me it was. You know, I'm pretty introverted, so getting behind a mic was not something that I was like, oh, yay, let's, let's do this sort of thing. Uh, it was, I think that was probably the most challenging for me.
And just, you know, that imposter syndrome that we all have, and it's like, is anybody listening, which we all probably still have, uh, and, and just knowing that what I had to say or what I was. Saying was important or that people cared about, you know, so it was that more of the, the self-confidence and wherewithal of like, yeah, what you say is, is good and people are listening.
And so, and it's also trying, you know, the sarcasm gets a bad rap and I think that people really get offended by it. And so I was really trying not to be Be too offensive because that wasn't my, I didn't want it to be that way. Like I stayed away from religion and politics just because that's just, I, I don't really like talking about those anyway, and then to add sarcasm to them.
I was like, yeah, let's not go that direction. Cause I want it to be a light topic that's not too heavy. And I don't want to piss everybody off because that's not really the point of this podcast, so, um, so yeah, I was trying to keep it light and humorous but yet still have that sarcasm attached to it. So then, when did you decide that you wanted to get into the magazine side of things and tell everybody what you created?
Well, once again, I was forced to do this, uh, creative endeavor. Uh, no, I obviously wasn't forced. Uh, it's, you know, the creative muse is, thinks it's funny that we're always looking for something to do creatively. Um, which isn't always the case, but in this case, it was, it, it really surprised me because I went to PodFest Expo, um, and, and, and, and, and, and, In 2020, right before we shut down for COVID, and this guy was passing around free issues of the podcast magazine.
And I was like, awesome, this is great. So I'm like, you know, I hope that they represent women independent podcasters, because this would be a great, Venue, great medium for that to happen. And as time went on, you know, it just didn't happen that way. There were celebrities on the cover, you know, the independent women were like in the top 50, but you like have to nominate yourself for that.
It's like, okay. It was just hidden in the multiple pages of the magazine. And I was like, yeah, that's, that's not okay. So later that year, like in October. That idea popped in my head and it's like, well then you're just going to have to create something yourself. And so I was like, what are you talking about?
Like, I don't know how to publish a magazine. I know nothing. Like I took a class in art school for InDesign. Like that's all I have. So I, I contacted my friend Sandy in Australia who just, uh, started publishing a magazine, print, um, magazine herself. And I'm just like, okay. I kind of talked to her about it and she's like, yeah, you definitely need to do this.
And I'm like, that's not quite the answer I was looking for, but okay, we'll roll with it. So, you know, Sandy kind of like nudged me a little, you know, pushed me off the edge. And then that April 2021 is our, was our first issue. And like, I didn't, I had no clue what I was doing. I contacted some podcasters that I knew, To see if they wanted to be in the first issue, I put Sandy on the cover because she was, you know, the one that forced me to do this and, you know, just kind of, as, Ideas came up, you know, I put, I put them in.
So, uh, and, and like with anything, as you know, it evolves. It, you know, my goal for each issue is just be 1 percent better than the last issue. And so I really try to, you know, bring that message across that this magazine is about women podcasters. Um, I don't have any hidden agenda as far as, you know, I'm concerned.
It's mostly about getting the exposure, um, and getting, and also getting resources out there because I know that it's so hard with the Google. You, you know, Google something and it's like, it's so overwhelming all the information that's out there. So.
Passionistas: So what are some of the unique challenges that women podcasters face and why is it so important to you to support them?
Kathy: Well, I think. There's very, there's a lot of common challenges. I think it's, you know, the, the technology can be a huge challenge for a lot of women because they're not used to using audio and video and mics and, and I think also the imposter syndrome is huge because they know they have a story to talk about.
They know they want to share other people's stories. But they're not sure how to go about it necessarily, or if, if anyone is listening. I think that's the hardest part is because there isn't any like clear data. But yes, the downloads give you somewhat of an idea, but you don't, you're not face to face with your listeners and You know, I think that is the hardest thing is, are people listening and, and that is hard not to take personally because it's like, well, I want people to hear my story.
I want people to hear this person's story. Um, and I think also juggling, you know, if, if they're a woman who is a single mom or has a family, you know, it's hard to juggle everything. If you have a job. You know, the first thing to go is going to be the podcast. If life, uh, something in life happens, the podcast is going to be the first thing that they set aside, which is unfortunate, but understandable.
And I think also, I also have realized that women don't think they're creative. And it's like, we're all creative in our own way. It doesn't have to be a painting or a novel or a poem or whatever. It's how you. Want to be creative, whatever that looks like for you. And so, you know, I think it's really cool to see the women when they first started their podcast and even like six months later and how much they've blossomed and thrived and really come into themselves and, and have more confidence in themselves.
And it does take time. And yes, it's like ebb and flow, you know, you're confident for a while, then something might happen that knocks you down and then you just, you know, you kind of get back up. But I also feel like the supportive podcast community is also helpful in that.
Yeah, absolutely. I think it totally changed our lives starting it. And we didn't expect it.
Passionistas: We did the same thing. It was just like, Oh, okay, we have this idea. Let's do a podcast. And we didn't know about you. So we did the Googling and, uh, well, you didn't exist at that time. We did the Googling and had a lot of, you know, trial and error and getting started.
And we know a lot of people don't last for a long time. I mean, we're 160 something episodes in now. Yeah, right. And it's, it's hard work. I think people think, you know, They'll, oh, it'll get in a groove and it'll be easy, but you really have to be dedicated. So the women who are in your magazine that you're, um, you're spotlighting, it's really great that you're doing that and giving them some wind beneath their wings because they're not getting the attention anywhere else.
So yeah, your work is really important. And we thank you. Do it. Um. Thank you. So the magazine comes. Oh, sorry. Go ahead.
Kathy: No, I was going to say it is hard work. And I, and I think like the statistic is like, what, seven episodes, the average is seven episodes. And then people call it quits because I think they realize that it is a lot of work.
But I also think it's important to know that. And I think part of that reason why it's only seven episodes is because I think people are too hard on themselves, that there's like this expectation that you have to. Put out episodes every week and it's like, no, you can put them out once a month. You can put out six in a month.
I mean, whatever you can do realistically in your life. And I think that's the most important thing for podcasters now and for those that are thinking about it. It's like, I don't care who tells you, you have to be consistent. Consistent once a month is consistent. Consistent isn't, you know, if it's every week, then that's great.
But just because it isn't every week doesn't mean you're not being consistent. So I think it's really important to like give yourself some grace and be like, Hey, This is all I can do. People are going to find you. People are going to listen. So, you know, as long as you, like, have a social media platform, Facebook, whatever, that you're marketing your episode and telling people, they're going to find it.
Passionistas: Yeah, we started as every two weeks. Um, we do every week now, but we also do it live now. And in the beginning, we used to And we're gonna be talking about how to edit every episode, frankly, within an inch of its life. You know, it was like, um, we need to cut out everything. We would spend hours editing every episode.
And then you listen back to them and it's like, oh, people just aren't, they don't seem natural. So I think that's a mistake we notice a lot of people making and we made it ourselves. And it's, it's another, we think, women centric issue, right? It was like this perfectionism thing. We all think we have to strive for perfectionism.
And as we've learned from people like Dr. Melissa Bird, it's like, no, no, no. It's the messy part that makes it interesting. So our advice to ourselves and to everybody else is like, let it unfold the way it unfolds. If there's some major technical issue, or if there's. You know, someone said something and they're like, Oh my God, I shouldn't have said that.
Cut it out. But beyond that, just like, let it be what it is. And people will connect more to the authenticity of that. Do you find that as well?
Kathy: Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think it's a little more authentic and, and, and editing. I totally understand the ahs and the ums and the rights and the, it's, it's like we all have our one word for that episode that we're going to say over and over again.
So just. Get over it and it's fine. And I think that people that are saying that you have to edit to the nth degree are those people that either do this as a business, have a team behind them. So they don't have to worry about it because. You know, they got somebody else to do it for them. And so, yeah, if you're the one doing everything, you can only do so much.
We're not robots. So you have to, like, pick your battles, pick what you want to work on, and, you know, go from there.
Passionistas: But there are robots now that are really super helpful. That's true. That's true. It's amazing. It's amazing how much the technology has changed and how there are robots now that will go in and edit out all the ums.
Kathy: That is true.
Passionistas: You do have a point there. I love that. And now there's robots that will pull clips for you. I mean, the hours and hours and hours we used to spend, I mean, we've been doing this now for five, six years. And yeah, You know, it was all manual back then. Like there was no automatic anything. And so now to like be able to upload your whole episode into a platform and then it spits out 20 clips for you, it's like, whoa, that's amazing.
Yeah. So talk about that a little bit. Talk about how, what are the other ways podcasting has changed over the years in just a short time? We've all been doing it.
Kathy: Well, yeah, like you said, technology is one thing. You know, I think, um, social media has been a huge, huge thing. And I mean, that's a full time job in itself, um, in which platforms and how many platforms and, you know, content.
And of course, technology can help you with the content as well. But I also feel like podcasting isn't. It doesn't seem to be as like, stringent, like there's no, I think back then it used to be a little bit more, not elitist, but I think now it's, you know, it's everybody can kind of get into it and, you know, everybody's valid.
You know, I kind of talk about, um, hobby shaming in podcasting and how, you know, if you're not making money off of podcasting, then you're not legitimately a podcast. Well, that's BS because if you're behind a microphone and you have something to say, then you're legitimate and you're, and it's, you're valid.
So, you know, monetizing is great, but it's not something that you have to do for podcasting. And it's super challenging. It's, it's, I mean, I don't know the percentage of people that actually make a living doing podcasting. Unless you're a business. Yeah. Right. Or you're a celebrity. A celebrity. Yeah. Yeah.
And so you have a huge audience and you have a, you know, platform that's paying you to create the show. I think a lot of people think they're not doing well because they're not earning a ton of money off of it. Well, I mean, a lot of times with sponsorship, what you need, what a thousand downloads an episode.
It's like, who's doing that besides the celebrities? So. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Passionistas: Um, so let's go back to the magazine for a sec. So it's a quarterly magazine. Mm hmm. Digital. Yes. Digital magazine. Who works with you on this? Do you do everything yourself? Do you have a team around you?
Kathy: So I do have a few writers that do like the interviews for the podcasters and I've had a couple, Chelsea and Becca, who have been with me for a couple of years now. Um, but yeah, I do interviews as well. So whatever they can't do, I pick up the slack. So I could be doing like four interviews an issue or more, which is quite a lot. Um, but I do enjoy, um, I do enjoy the interviewing. It's the writing that I still struggle with.
Um, but, and I do the layout. So I basically do all the layout. Um, the, Promotions, the, you know, reaching out to each podcaster and I, yeah, so I basically do all of that. It's fun. I enjoy it. I enjoy reaching out to the podcasters and because they're just so excited, you know, it's like, I'm just this little magazine.
It's not too much to get excited about really, but I do understand why they're excited and, you know, talking to them about their, Story of how they got podcasting and their backstory and just learning about them. It's just really rewarding for me. And then, you know, trying to translate that into a written article, it's hard.
It's difficult for me because I want to do right by them. I don't want to miss, uh, state what they say. And so for me, I take it very serious and it's, it's a huge responsibility. Um, because we aren't able to like show them the article and be like, Hey, Does this sound okay? I mean, you just don't have the time to do that.
Um, and I don't know if Rolling Stone knows that either. If you do Rolling Stone, let me know. Um, so there is a lot to it for sure. Uh, but it's just, you know, I just really enjoy, you know, I see it as a business. I see it as, you know, doing a service for others.
Passionistas: It is. It's a really great service and it is, you know, it's really fun for a podcaster to have someone reach out and say, Hey, we want to tell people about you because that does not happen very often.
Kathy: Yes. Yes. Not that you don't have to. I mean, they can fill out the Get Featured form, but it's like, you don't have to nominate yourself. Somebody else doesn't have to nominate you. It's just like, if you want to be featured, just let me know and we can talk about it and yeah. You know, we'll make it happen.
Passionistas: So what do you hope people who are reading the magazine take away from it?
Kathy: As far as the interviews, I really want people who either are in podcasting or just wanting to start podcasting, that they're not alone in their struggles, in the challenges that they're having, that we've all been through it and we all still kind of go through it.
And just to like, read other people's stories. It's really cool to see how they started, and there's just so many, the thread between podcasters is just so similar, even though they may come from a different background or culture or language. It's all, you know, we're all very similar as far as why we started the podcast, you know, the challenges that we have, the rewards of podcasting.
So I just want people to know that they're not alone, that there are people out there to support them in their journey of podcasting, but also like the resource articles, you know, the topic articles about hobby shaming or, you know, Challenges, how to overcome podcast challenges or, you know, sales funnels, or, you know, just to be able to.
Get that conversation started and, you know, get people to think about, oh yeah, sales funnels. I'd never even thought about that. And so, you know, maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't, but at least they know about it and they can look into it if it's something that they're interested in.
Passionistas: What are some of those common challenges and what are your tips for overcoming challenges that, that might be helpful to women?
Kathy: You know, I think it's, um, It's the expectation that I think we put on ourselves is I think the biggest challenge. Um, and to overcome those is to seek other, seek out other podcasters and hear about their story and how they may have overcome the same challenge. Um, it's just to get ideas. Because sometimes when we're in it, we don't really think, we can't see really the big picture.
But if you, you know, ask another podcaster who may have gone through it, then you can kind of get those ideas and see the bigger picture. And you know, it, it's all, it all ends up being okay anyway. So, you know, it's just, How the podcast evolves and where you want it to go. I mean, that's totally up to you. It's your show.
You can do it however you want to. Um, and it's great to get ideas from other podcasters. Uh, so because they've already walked that path and to, you know, make it a little easier for, for someone that's just starting.
Passionistas: Um, can you, can you think of maybe one or two of the, like, most. Interesting or unusual or creative podcasts that you featured in the magazine?
Kathy: Ooh, that's a good question.
I think most recently, because that's about as far as my memory can go sometimes, um, in the July issue, the cover was Karen Velez with, uh, Just Grow Something. And her story was pretty cool because she's ex military, You know, she had some medical stuff going on. Um, and she lived in like this little apartment duplex and, uh, decided to grow some tomatoes or something.
So that's kind of how it started for her. And now she has like a 40 acre farm with her and her husband and her kids are all gone, but she's also an endurance runner. And she started running because of the health issues that she was having, you know, around her, um, Before she left the military. And just to hear people's story and just what they go through, how they overcome those challenges in their life and, and how they're just thriving.
And You know, and now she's like on the backside of her farm, like they're trying to downsize and so, cause they're like looking towards retirement and it's hard to go on vacation when you have a huge farm to, you know, maintain. And she does farmer's markets on the weekends. And so sometimes people will come up to her and be like, Oh yeah, I listened to your podcast or on the reverse side, they'll learn about her podcast at the farmer's market.
And so. Being able to network that way is pretty cool because people show her their gardens and what it looks like and, you know, they tried something that she recommended and it totally worked and, you know, that, that kind of interaction is really cool I think.
Passionistas: Well, we should introduce her to Billie Best who's in the Sisterhood who also had a farm and retired.
Her husband passed away and she had to retire at the farm and gone through that entire journey. So if she ever wants to talk to somebody who's been there.
Kathy: Definitely. Yeah. Connection to make. Um, yeah, I always think it's amazing with podcasts. Like what someone has to be so passionate. about the topic, to take the time to go through all this to start a show.
And when it's something that specific or the, you know, something really unusual, it always fascinates me like that they, that they're that committed to it. So that's one of my favorite things about, about podcasting.
Passionistas: Um, you also are always looking for other ways to support women in podcasting. And one of the you've set up as a pod swap program. Can you tell everybody about that?
Kathy: Yeah, the podcast promo swap is something that we're kind of doing new on the website, and I think it's a great opportunity for, um, podcasters to collaborate and to, um, maybe seek a different audience and reach different people. Aaron and Heather, um, at the Three Kitchens podcast, they're in, um, in Canada.
And they brought it up in the learning community that we have once a month, um, about wanting to, to do something like this. So I'm thinking, okay, how can we. We make this happen so that it's as efficient as possible and that it doesn't take much effort for people to contact. So we have a page on our website at womenwhopodcastmag.com where you can see the list of people that are participating that you can reach out to them to make sure that they're aligned with your message and you can also submit a form to be added to the list. So, it's really cool to be able, and I know that Heather. And Aaron had been using that and they've been swapping promos.
And I know a couple other podcasters that have done it too. So I know that it's working, which is great to see, cause it's always cool to see something that you've, you know, created or helped create kind of being used. So it's a real cool way to, to help each other out. And it's a quick like 30 second, either you can send them the audio or you can have them read.
You know, a 30 second spot or something, um, and one of their episodes. So it's, it's a great way to reach listeners that may not know about you and, and it's, you know, free.
Passionistas: So can't beat that. That's amazing. That's a really, really great thing that people should take advantage of. Um, so, uh, What podcasts are you currently listening to?
Kathy: So, I feel guilty by saying this, but I'm not much of a podcast listener. Um, but I do listen to the, um, podcasters that we interview, um, because that I am interested in what they have to say. Um, a couple of them is, um, The Gay Podcast for, uh, everyone. Um, and There's another one. It's called Gay Stuff Podcast.
I think they're in London or something. But I also listen to like Three Kitchens because I'm not much of a cook so it's kind of cool to hear. How they make all these wonderful things. Um, but I'm, you know, it's hard for me to listen, like audio books. It's hard for me to do audio books cause my mind just wanders.
So, and I normally listen to podcasts when I'm driving, so. Um, which isn't much these days because I work from home mostly, but, you know, I try to like, be like, okay, Kath, just listen to a podcast and, you know, see where it goes because it's cool to hear how other podcasts are doing their show, uh, so I'm learning from them as well, so.
Passionistas: Yeah, I like to listen when I cook. It's a good, it makes everything go really fast.
Kathy: So do you guys do the YouTube podcast or you do more audio?
Of our show? For as far as listening. Oh, as far as listening. Um, we, I usually do audio every once in a while now that people are like, oh, well, if you're watching a video, you can see the, you know, the bruise from the baseball that hit him in his shoulder.
It's like, oh, what? Go scroll through the video. Um, so. Yeah. I try, I really try not to, because I, I am the same as you. I listen in the car. Yeah. When I'm cooking. It's kind of like going from film to digital, right? It's, it's, it's hard for me to be like. Going from audio to video when podcast was meant to be audio.
I mean, I understand why people are gravitating towards the video, but it's going to take me another 10 years probably to accept it. So yeah, to me, it's a completely different thing. Like we, we position our video version as Passionistas TV and it's our TV talk show and we have the podcast and it's the same content, but it's like, Yeah, I'm, I barely watch TV.
I listen to TV doing five other things. I'm constantly like rewinding like wait, there must have been a facial expression I missed. I totally missed a plot point here, especially like a Game of Thrones kind of show. Everybody's constantly like looking at someone and it's like, If you miss that look, then six episodes later, you're like, what?
So for me, like the idea, like the joy of podcasting is I can be doing other things and not worry about what it looks like. And statistics say that people are usually doing other things when they listen. So I mean, a lot of podcasts are big time commitments. Yeah. Yeah. So you got to be doing something, but dishes,
Passionistas: Yeah.
Kathy: Vacuuming. Driving. I like the driving. Driving. Walking. When I go for a walk, sometimes I'll listen to a podcast. Yeah. Do you guys have a favorite that you listen to?
Passionistas: I mean, I hate to say, I wish it was a women's independent podcast, and I am embarrassed that it's not. But I, I love family trips with the Myers brothers.
Oh, okay. I just love it. It's a brother. That's the brothers. So I like that. Yeah. It's like a sister thing. Um, and they get people to just talk about, you You know, they do the celebrity thing a bit, but then Josh, who's Seth Meyers brother, who's also in entertainment, but is always like, okay, enough with the Saturday Night Live story, like, did you take car trips when you were five?
Or did you, you know, so they, they really do talk about people's experiences.
So, I love, I get totally excited, I get really excited when there's a new episode.
I actually am a lot like you, and I really don't listen to a lot of podcasts. When I was sick, Amy gave me a list of podcasts to listen to, and I did listen to a bunch of them. Um, but I find if I have time to listen to a podcast, I do try to listen to a podcast from someone in their sisterhood.
And we do have a whole bunch of podcasts in our sisterhood. So there's always something new and different to hear and learn. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Kathy: I love Dr. Melissa Bird's podcast. It's very calming and beautiful. I love Natalie. Natalie Kime has a podcast where she, um, it's called Nickels and Dimes and she's a finance person, but she's a finance person with the heart.
And so she actually talks about money things in a way that's not scary. Uh, So that's a really good one. Um, Kari Heard, um, has an awesome podcast called Fuck Fine. Right. That's right. She gets really good conversations. Lauren Best, Julie DeLuca Collins has a great one. And you, so, you know, pumps you up and there, yeah, there are so many, um, We have a new Power Passionista, Melanie Childers, who has a great podcast that we just added to the, um, to our network.
So Nancy is right, there are lots of amazing Passionistas on your podcast we love, which is in our network. So we're lucky. Yeah. There's a lot out there and there's a lot out, depending on your mood, you can find anything based on what your mood is. So. Absolutely. The other one that's very timely is, um, is Chris Graves, uh, Blissful Spinster Podcast, which in light of all of the, um, the catless, childless cat women, um, is really great.
And she's got awesome t shirts that go along with it. So, um, highly recommend. Chris is awesome. I'll check that out. Yeah, she's great. She's on, it's in the podcast network and she does interviews and she's just an awesome, awesome, awesome, uh, Really good conversations. Yeah, and that's what I like. I like good conversations.
I mean, the chit chat, the small talk, I can't. And I, and I think a lot of podcasts that I've kind of came up upon have been like that. And that's why I kind of. Don't seek them out. But for those that are deep conversations or good conversations, I can definitely relate to that. Yeah, totally. Um, so what's the question we're not asking about women and podcasting?
Have you gotten your copy yet? I don't know. That's an excellent question. Where can people get their copy?
Kathy: So womenwhopodcastmag. com. You can either get a single issue for 5. 99 or a subscription, which is for issues for 20, which is it. Pretty good deal. Um, and it does come out, uh, the next issue is in October.
So we'll have nine featured podcasters and, um, there's some pretty amazing ones in there. So, I mean, every issue I think there's amazing ones. So I think, um, people will be, and it's cool that they're all over the country, all over the world, um, and be able to just see how others kind of. And other cultures and other countries do their podcasts.
And it's very similar, and I think that's what's so great is that even it doesn't matter where you're from, what country you live in, you know, there's always that familiar, familiarity to it.
Passionistas: Yeah. I love that. All right. So we have one last two part question. Um, what's your dream for yourself and what's your dream for women?
Kathy: My dream for myself is to be able to continue with the magazine and support as many women as I can and encourage. Women to start their own podcast. Um, and for women, I think it's, it's, um, that we don't wait to be invited to the table as was it Shirley Chisholm that used to say, bring your own chair. And invite yourself to the table.
And I think in the podcasting world, we definitely need to do that more often and not wait to be invited, but just like, Hey, you know, I want to be a speaker at this conference. I want to, you know, be a guest on this podcast or, Hey, I want Michelle Obama on my podcast. So, you know, nothing is out of reach and, um, you know, just do your thing and don't worry about everybody else.
So now that's easy to say. Not necessarily easy to do, but yeah, it's time that we made space for ourselves and bring a portable chair wherever you go.
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